Android Permissions

Welcome curious Android user. If you are the type who looks over the list of requested
permissions for an application (and you should), you will often find some scary
sounding things in the list. Below is the list of permissions that the Glympse application
requests along with explanations as to why we ask for them.

The Android permission system requires applications to request all possible permissions
at the time of install that might be needed at any point in the future by the application.
There is no way for a customer to pick-and-choose which permissions to allow, and
there is no way for an application to only request a permission when you use some
feature in the application that requires that permission.

We can tell you that we love our customers (true), have been in the Android market since
2008 and featured many times (also true), and have very good ratings and loyal users
(true again), but ultimately you have to trust us with the permissions below. Hopefully,
these explanations will help you understand how each permission is used to make
Glympse the great product that it is.

The permissions for receiving and reading text messages allow Glympse to determine when
you have received a Glympse invite from a friend via an SMS text message, and prompt
you to view your friend's location.

When you send a Glympse to someone, you can choose to send via an SMS text message,
send via an email, post to Facebook, post to Twitter, copy to your clipboard, or
send to another application on your phone. This send SMS messages permission is
only needed if you choose to send an invite to a friend using an SMS text message.
Note: If you prefer to use a Google Voice number to send SMS messages, you can use
the “share via” button in the “Send a Glympse” page and choose a different program
to send the Glympse invite.

System tools: Install shortcuts

Glympse allows you to save a favorite Glympse to your desktop for quick access.
This permission is needed if you choose to use this feature.

These permissions are needed to obtain your location. Network-based location (also
known as ‘coarse mode’) gets a quick location, but is not usually pinpoint accurate.
GPS (also known as ‘fine mode’) is a bit slower to initially locate you, but is
usually more accurate.

Bluetooth: Access Bluetooth settings, pair with Bluetooth devices

These permissions allow Glympse to be paired with many in-dash car systems that
are “Glympse aware”. We have partnered with several car makers and will be rolling
out support for new systems over time.

The “activity recognition” permission allows Glympse to optimize battery
based on if you are walking, driving, or biking.

The “read your own contact card” permission allows Glympse to set your initial name and
avatar. You can change these at any time in settings.

Glympse uses the calendar only when you enable calendar support on the main page
under the ‘Shortcuts’ tab (defaults to being off). The only information read from
your calendar is a list of upcoming meetings you have in the next 24 hours. For
each meeting, Glympse will read the start time, list of participants, event name,
and event destination. This allows Glympse to send an invite to all the participants
of a meeting you are about to travel to. Glympse never stores, copies or transmits
information from your calendar.

Phone calls: Read phone status and identity

This permission helps Glympse detect when there are changes to network conditions.
For example, many phones lose their internet connection when a phone call is in
progress and will resume the internet connection when the phone call is complete.

Network communication:
Connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi, control Near Field
Communication, full network access

The “connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi” permission allows Glympse to optimize battery
when acquiring location from Wi-Fi triangulation.

The “Near Field Communication” permission is used for a feature we released at Google’s
developer conference called "Tap-n-Track", which allows you to tap two Android phones
together and instantly have them share their location with each other. This feature
uses Android's Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities to detect when the phones
have come in contact with each other.

Your social information: Read call log, read your contacts

The “read call log” permission allows you to quickly send a Glympse to a person
you are currently talking to or have recently talked to. This feature works in the
application and on a Samsung Galaxy Gear device.

For the “read contact data” permission, Glympse uses your contacts to allow you
to pick a phone number or email address to send a Glympse to. Your contacts can
also be used to pick an address as a destination.

These permissions are used to help Glympse adapt to changing conditions with Wi-Fi
based location and your internet connection. The Wi-Fi permission allows Glympse
to be smart about picking the best location source in a given situation (like in
a downtown area vs. a rural area). The network permission helps Glympse deal with
a flakey internet connection and other network problems.

The “find accounts” permission is required for Glympse to use ‘push’ on Android.
‘Push’ allows a Glympse user to request the location of another Glympse user.

The “read Google service configuration” permission is needed to use many of the
new features in Google Play Services, such as better location, routing, and maps.

Affects battery: Control vibration, prevent phone from sleeping

For the “control vibration” permission, Glympse uses standard Android notifications
for events such as receiving a Glympse from a friend or when you reach the destination
of your Glympse. This permission allows these notifications to also play a short
vibration pattern.

The “prevent phone from sleeping” permission allows Glympse to obtain your location
when running in the background while actively sharing your location with others.
Most devices do not need this permission, but some devices require it. This permission
is only used when you are actively sharing your location.

Glympse offers consumers a quick and simple way to share their location in real-time with the people they trust. Now, Glympse also enables businesses and channel partners to provide the benefits of real-time location sharing to their customers. Change the way your customers interact with your brand with Glympse, the pioneer in location communication.